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Insisting Jesus Was White Is Bad History and Bad Theology

Fox News television host Megyn Kelly told viewers on her December 11 broadcast that Jesus and Santa are both white men.

"Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn't mean it has to change," Kelly said. "Jesus was a white man, too. It's like we have, he's a historical figure that's a verifiable fact, as is Santa, I just want kids to know that. How do you revise it in the middle of the legacy in the story and change Santa from white to black?"

Setting aside the ridiculousness of creating rigidly racial depictions of a fictitious character that does not actually exist—sorry, kids—like Santa, Kelly has made a more serious error about Jesus. The scholarly consensus is actually that Jesus was, like most first-century Jews, probably a dark-skinned man. If he were taking the red-eye flight from San Francisco to New York today, Jesus might be profiled for additional security screening by TSA.

If Jesus were taking the red-eye flight from San Francisco to New York today, he might be profiled for additional screening by TSA.

The myth of a white Jesus is one with deep roots throughout Christian history. As early as the Middle Ages and particularly during the Renaissance, popular Western artists depicted Jesus as a white man, often with blue eyes and blondish hair. Perhaps fueled by some Biblical verses correlating lightness with purity and righteousness and darkness with sin and evil, these images sought to craft a sterile Son of God.

The only problem was that the representations were historically inaccurate.

Modern Western Christians have carried these images over into their own depictions of Jesus. Pick up a one of those bright blue “Bible Story” books in a Sunday School classroom and you’ll find white Jesus waiting for you, rosy cheeks and all. Or you could survey the light-skinned Jesus in any number of modern TV or film portrayals, including History Channel’s hit series The Bible.

Interestingly, the Bible is far less descriptive on the matter of Jesus’ skin color than we are. Christian scriptures say very little about Jesus’ physical appearance. They do not comment on his nose, eye color, skin pigmentation, or hair. The glaring exception is Isaiah 53:2, which prophesies that the messiah won’t be much to look at, another fact that places the Bible at odds with the “well-groomed surfer-dude Jesus” who's often put forth.

The Bible is far less descriptive on the matter of Jesus’ skin color than are we. The scriptures say very little about his physical appearance at all.

If the Bible is silent on the matter of Jesus’ skin color, does it really matter that Megyn Kelly says Jesus is white?

Yes, actually.

As some historians and theologians have posited, the silence of the Scriptures on the issue of Jesus’ skin color is critical to Christianity’s broad appeal with people of various ethnicities. In a world where race often divides communities and even churches, the Biblical depictions of God’s son positions him as one who can bridge those divides.

For this reason, one American Presbyterian minister in the 1880s warned his flock not to trust popular images of Christ:

If He were particularised and localised—if, for example, He were made a man with a pale face—then the man of the ebony face would feel that there was a greater distance between Christ and him than between Christ and his white brother.’ Instead, because the Bible refused to describe Jesus in terms of racial features, his gospel could appeal to all. Only in this way could the Church be a place where the ‘Caucasian and Mongolian and African sit together at the Lord’s table, and we all think alike of Jesus, and we all feel that He is alike our brother’.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Advice for Living” column for Ebony in 1957, the civil-rights leader was asked, “Why did God make Jesus white, when the majority of peoples in the world are non-white?” King replied, “The color of Jesus’ skin is of little or no consequence” because what made Jesus exceptional “His willingness to surrender His will to God’s will.” His point, as historian Edward Blum has noted, is that Jesus transcends race.

Those warnings hold just as true for believers today. Within the church, eschewing a Jesus who looks more like a Scandinavian supermodel than the sinless Son of God in the scriptures is critical to maintaining a faith in which all can give praise to one who became like them in an effort to save them from sins like racism and prejudice. It's important for Christians who want to expand the church, too, in allowing the creation of communities that are able to worship a Jesus who builds bridges rather than barriers. And it is essential to enabling those who bear the name of Christ to look forward to that day when, according to the book of Revelation, those “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” can worship God together.

Until that day arrives, though, can someone please tell Megyn Kelly that Jesus is not white?

Honestly if you believe the historical Jesus existed, trying to make him "white" is just asinine. I don't know why it would matter to a believer in the first place, but if you believe in the history then he wasn't a random European dropped into the holyland.

Obviously he was a brown guy like everyone else in the region was (and mostly is.)

I don't care. He was a wise man. A human being. Probably of dark skin, not white. But who cares? Only Megyn,it seemed,until this bizarre explosion ofnews stories came about.

I kind of wish that everyone would stop creating Blogs about her. SHe is getting all kinds of attention after her silly, empty comments about Santa and Jesus. Please....she needs to just go away for a while and the Media needs to shut up.

Based on the part of our world he lived in, he would most likely be olive complected. Personally it makes no difference to me whatsoever. The crucifix is more symbolic to me, but holy pictures of Jesus are very symbolic to others.

Jesus isn't white. I don't understand why it matters. Right now, he is no color. His spirit sitting becide the non white, non gender Higher being. We supose to only care about his teaching not color. Jeez, this is why humans is still suck where we are because we can't get pass color.

Which is probably why there is no description of him in the gospels. The only description is in Revelation of his glorified being.

Quoting 1Giovanni:

Jesus isn't white. I don't understand why it matters. Right now, he is no color. His spirit sitting becide the non white, non gender Higher being. We supose to only care about his teaching not color. Jeez, this is why humans is still suck where we are because we can't get pass color.

Is there some link to this Megyn Kelly reference? I keep seeing post about it here and on FB and I totally missed it. Jesus was born a Jew not exactly white. I also find it ridiculous that he is portrayed as some small fragile being. He was raised as and worked at being a carpenter until he was in his 30's. He had to be a rather big burly guy in order to withstand the beating he received and then be able to carry that cross up the hill. Also he had to constantly assure people he was not as scary as he looked.

I do know the reason all the old icons look European. It's because they were painted by Europeans People paint him how they most relate to him. If you look at religious pictures painted in Japan they look Asian. In some parts of the world He looks black. It doesn't matter what color skin he is portrayed to have in statues and paintings. We are all created in His image so it's only natural to relate to Him in our own way.

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